Lighthouses of Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan, a country of central Asia, was one
of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union until 1991. At its western
end, Turkmenistan borders the southeastern quadrant of the landlocked
Caspian Sea (known as the Hazar Sea in the Turkmen language). The Caspian is often called the world's largest lake; although landlocked, it has a busy international trade.

The only port of any size is Türkmenbaşy (or Turkmenbashi, known as
Krasnovodsk under Russian and Soviet rule).
Accessible by air and also by ferry from Baku in Azerbaijan, Türkmenbaşy
is the country's main point of contact with Europe.

The Turkmen language has been written in Arabic and Cyrillic scripts (and both versions are still in use) but since the fall of the Soviet Union a modified Latin script has been official. The Turkmen word for a lighthouse, maýak, is adopted from Russian. As in Turkish, ada is the word for an island and burun is a cape.

Aids to navigation in the country are presumably maintained by the State Service for Maritime and River Transport.

Special thanks to Michel Forand for his assistance in identifying and locating Turkmen lighthouses.

Since
lighthouses on the Caspian are not included in international
light lists not much is known about them. Further information, especially
photos, would be welcome.

1963. Active(?); light characteristic unknown. 31 m (102 ft) round cylindrical concrete tower with lantern and gallery. Lighthouse painted white, lantern black. A small photo is available (near the bottom of the page), but Google has only a fuzzy satellite view. The lighthouse is reported to be powered by a wind turbine. Ogurja is a 47 km (29 mi) long, sandy island oriented north to south and lying southwest of the Çeleken peninsula. Formerly a pirate hangout and then a leper colony, the island is now an uninhabited nature reserve. Located at the southern tip of the island. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. ARLHS TKM-001.

Dervish Ýarymada (Polusostrov Dervish, Dervish Peninsula)

Date unknown. Believed to be inactive. Approx. 10 m (33 ft) brick tower with gallery. No photo available; Wikimapia has a page for the site (called "Dead Lighthouse") and Google has a satellite view. Located on the Dervish Peninsula, a sand spit projecting southward from Çeleken, about 25 km (15 mi) south of the Çeleken lighthouse. Site status unknown. ARLHS TKM-002.

Hazar South Breakwater

Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 12 m (39 ft); probably a green light, characteristic unknown. Approx. 10 m (33 ft) round concrete tower. A view from the sea is available, this light is barely visible near the left edge of Rejep Kurbanov's photo of the harbor entrance, and Google has an indistinct satellite view. Located at the west end of a detached breakwater protecting the harbor of Hazar (Çeleken). Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown.

Hazar North Breakwater

Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 12 m (39 ft); probably a red light, characteristic unknown. Approx. 10 m (33 ft) round concrete tower. This light is barely visible near the center of Rejep Kurbanov's photo of the harbor entrance, and Google has an indistinct satellite view. Located at the west end of the north breakwater protecting the harbor of Hazar (Çeleken). Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown.

* Çeleken (Cheleken)

1965. Active; a weak continuous white light is shown. Approx. 40 m (131 ft) round concrete
tower with lantern and double gallery. Lighthouse painted white, lantern
red. Keeper's house and other light station buildings. A photo is at the top of this page, Wikimapia has several photos, a 2009 photo is available, Rejep Kurbanov has a distant view, and Google has a satellite view. Arent van der Veen reported in 2012 that the light is too weak to be useful for navigation. We don't know the height of this lighthouse, but it must
be more than 30 m (98 ft). Prior to the 1930s Çeleken was an island, as seen in a historic map; the falling level of the Caspian Sea joined it to the mainland. Located on a prominent cape on the south
side of the bay of Kizyl-Su or Krasnovodsk, about 3 km (2 mi) northwest
of the city of Çeleken. Site apparently open, tower closed. ARLHS TKM-003.

Türkmenbaşy (Krasnovodsk) Area Lighthouses

Kyzyl-Su (Türkmenbaşy, Krasnovodsk, Bekovicha)

1956. Active(?); light characteristic unknown. 29 m (95 ft) round or octagonal
cylindrical tower with lantern and gallery. A photo is at right, and Google has a good satellite
view of the station. Kyzyl-Su is the original name of Krasnovodsk,
now called Türkmenbaşy. The city is built on a bay (Kyzyl-Su or Krasnovodsk
Bay) that is partially enclosed by a chain of barrier islands, and
the light station is built at one of the highest points in this barrier.
The light apparently serves as a landfall light, since it doesn't mark
an entrance through the barrier. It replaced a pair of small range lighthouses built in 1908. Accessible only by boat. Site status
unknown. ARLHS TKM-004.

Date unknown. Active; light characteristic unknown. Approx. 30 m (98 ft) square pyramidal skeletal tower, painted red. The upper portion of the tower carries a trapezoidal slatted daymark painted black with a white vertical stripe. Wikimapia has a photo, and Bing has a satellite view. This is presumably the rear light of a range guiding vessels into the harbor; the location of the front light is not known. Located across the street from the football stadium in Türkmenbaşy. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS TKM-005.

* Awaza East Breakwater

2010 (?). Active (?); light characteristic unknown. 8 m (26 ft) round white concrete tower with gallery. This is the tower on the right in Andrew Nikitin's photo of the two lighthouses and in Google's indistinct satellite view. The lights mark the entrance to a small basin, presumably a ferry landing. Located in the Awaza resort development on the Caspian shore about 12 km (7.5 mi) west of Türkmenbaşy. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS TKM-006.

* Awaza West Breakwater

2010 (?). Active (?); light characteristic unknown. 8 m (26 ft) round white concrete tower with gallery. This is the tower on the left in Andrew Nikitin's photo of the two lighthouses and in Google's indistinct satellite view. Located in the Awaza resort development on the Caspian shore about 12 km (7.5 mi) west of Türkmenbaşy. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS TKM-007.

** Tarta

1963. Inactive. Approx. 17 m (56 ft) hexagonal stone tower
with gallery, mounted on a square stone base. The tower was probably
painted white originally, but little paint remains. Oleg Storozhenko's
photo is at right, a 2013 closeup is available, and
Google has a satellite view of the lighthouse. Storozhenko reports that the tower is abandoned. Located at Tarta Burun,
a cape about 20 km (13 mi) west of Türkmenbaşy. Site open; tower open. ARLHS TKM-011.

Guvlymayak (Guwly Mayak, Kuuli Mayak) (1)

1897. Inactive since 1953. Approx. 40 m (131 ft) square pyramidal cast iron skeletal tower with lantern, gallery, and central cylinder; the central cylinder rises from a square 1-story equipment room. Alex Mukh has a good 2008 photo, another photo shows both lighthouses, and Bing has a satellite view. Guvlymayak means "Swan Lighthouse." This historic lighthouse is probably in very poor condition. Located on a promontory about 40 km (25 mi) north of Türkmenbaşy. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS TKM-008.

Guvlymayak (Guwly Mayak, Kuuli Mayak) (2)

1953 (station established 1897). Active(?); light characteristic unknown. Approx. 40 m (131 ft) round concrete tower with lantern and gallery. A good 2008 photo is available, another photo shows both lighthouses, and Bing has a satellite view. Located adjacent to the historic lighthouse. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS TKM-009.

1955. Active(?); focal plane 49 m (161 ft); two white flashes every 13 s. 29 m (95
ft) round cylindrical masonry tower with lantern and gallery. A portfolio of photos is available, Oleg
Guchgeldiyev has posted a good view, and Google
has a fine satellite
view of this historic light station. The lighthouse was reported inactive in 2006. Kara Ada is a small island
about 2.5 km (1.5 mi) southwest of Bekdaş near the northwestern corner
of Turkmenistan. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown; there
must be a distant view from shore. ARLHS TKM-010.